Fin Gras du Mézenc beef

Fin gras du Mézenc

What it is

Each farm puts forward only a few animals a year: heifers of at least 24 months or bullocks of at least 30, fattened for 110 days or more in the byre on first-cut hay dried in the field, from natural meadows at 1,100 to 1,500 m. Studies cited in the specification link the terpenes of this hay, whose emblem is Alpine baldmoney, locally cistre, to those of the meat's fat. The slow finish lays down white cover fat and marbling, so carcasses can hang 20 to 30 days unspoiled.

In the kitchen

Sold only from February to June, traditionally for Easter; grilling and roasting cuts must be labelled with at least ten full days of maturation on the bone. Sear a rib steak in its own fat and rest it as long as it cooked, and keep the forequarter for pot-au-feu, one of the three ways the specification describes it.

Goes with

Puy lentil Potato Carrot Leek Turnip Dijon mustard Porcini Black pepper

Same species

Abura-kasu Amourettes (spinal marrow) Spider steak Bastourma Flank steak Beef

In season alongside

Barèges-Gavarnie mutton Allis shad Bonito (katsuo) Japanese amberjack (buri) Lamb neck European conger

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